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Ben BabyMar 28, 2026, 09:00 PM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).<\/p>\n Multiple Authors<\/p>\n CINCINNATI — Anybody who took one look at the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> last season could identify where the team needed to improve in the offseason.<\/p>\n The defense.<\/p>\n Best of NFL Nation \u2022 How the Maxx Crosby trade fell apart<\/a> For yet another season, Cincinnati’s defense struggled to support the offense. And as the Bengals finished a third consecutive year outside of the playoffs, assurances were made that the front office was going to make major fixes in the offseason.<\/p>\n To an extent, that happened. The Bengals brought in three major pieces — defensive end Boye Mafe<\/a>, safety Bryan Cook<\/a> and defensive lineman Jonathan Allen<\/a>.<\/p>\n But for the Bengals to support Joe Burrow<\/a> and the offense in the franchise’s attempt to become relevant again, they will need a combination of growth from returning players and contributions from the newcomers in order to live up to their potential. That’s the task at hand for defensive coordinator Al Golden and Cincinnati’s coaching staff in 2026.<\/p>\n “The guys that are returning have a lot of confidence in terms of how we finished the year,” Golden said in February at the NFL combine. “You can’t discard the rest of it, because at the end of the day, that falls on me.”<\/p>\n One of the primary reasons Cincinnati hired Golden in 2025 was to develop its young players. With the Bengals spending big on Burrow and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase<\/a> and Tee Higgins<\/a>, the team has needed to bank on young defensive starters in order to get everything to fit beneath the salary cap.<\/p>\n The projected starting lineup for 2026 is proof of that.<\/p>\n In a 4-3 alignment, seven players are top 100 draft picks who are still on rookie contracts. Three have been signed to contracts worth more than $10 million annually (Mafe, Cook, defensive tackle B.J. Hill<\/a>). The only exception is linebacker Barrett Carter<\/a>, the fourth-round selection in 2025 whom the coaching staff has praised after being thrown into the deep end as a rookie.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nfl_maxx-crosby-raiders-ravens_16x9_608x342.jpg\")
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